The Weapons of Mystery. Hocking Joseph
"Go on, Herod," he said; "I am up in Egypt again."
"It was little we ate," said Voltaire, "during the next seven days. We were too anxious to know whether the secrets of the dead were to be revealed. Neither could we speak much, for the tongue is generally silent when the soul is wrapped in mystery; and right glad were we when the day dawned on which the veil should be made thicker or altogether drawn aside.
"We did not seek to know the mystery after which we were panting until the midnight of Ilfra's birthday. Then, when the earth in its revolution spelt out that hour, we entered the room of the maiden whose soul had departed.
"The Egyptians have lost much of the knowledge of the ancients, especially in the art of embalming. Often the sons of Egypt moan over that departed wisdom; still the art is not altogether gone. The body of Ilfra lay embalmed before us as we entered. She had been beautiful in life, but was more beautiful in death, and it was with reverence for that beauty that I stood beside her.
"'Fetch Helfa,' said Abou to a servant, 'and then begone.'
"Helfa was Abou's son. Here, in England, you would cruelly designate him as something between a madman and an idiot, but the Easterns look not thus upon those who possess not their ordinary faculties. Through Helfa, Abou had seen many wonderful things, and now he was going to use him again.
"'Howajja Herod,' he said to me, 'I am first going to use one of our old means of getting knowledge. It has failed me in the past, but it will be, perchance, more potent in the presence of Ilfra the Understanding One.'
"With that he took some ink, and poured it in Helfa's hand. This ink was the most precious in his possession, and obtained by means not lawful to relate. When it was in his son's hands he looked at me straight in the eyes, until, while I was in possession of all my senses, I seemed to live a charmed life. My imagination soared, my heart felt a wondrous joy.
"'Look,' said Abou, 'look in Helfa's hand.'
"I looked intently.
"'What see you, son Herod?'
"'I see a paradise,' I replied, 'but I cannot describe it. The beauties are incomparable. Ilfra is there; she mingles with those who are most obeyed.'
"'See you anything by which the mystery can be learned?'
"'I can see nothing.'
"I heard a sigh. I had returned to my normal condition again, and had told nothing.
"'I expected this,' he said, 'but I will try Helfa.'
"The experiment with Helfa, however, was just as fruitless.
"Then he turned to me. 'Son Herod,' he said, 'prepare to see the greatest deed ever done by man. All the knowledge and power of my life are to be concentrated in one act.'
"With that he looked at Helfa, who staggered to a low cushion.
"'Spirit of Helfa, leave the body,' he said.
"Instantly the eyes of Helfa began to close; his limbs grew stiff, and in a few seconds he lay lifeless by us.
"'I have a mission for you, spirit of Helfa. Flee to the home of spirits, and bring back the soul of thy sister, that she may tell me what we wish to know.'
"When the command was given, I felt that a something—an entity—was gone from us. Abou and I were alone with the two bodies.
"'What expect you, Abou?' I said, anxiously.
"'If the labour of a lifetime has not been a failure,' he said, 'these two bodies will soon possess their spirits.'"
Again Voltaire stopped in his recital, and looked around the room. He saw that every eye was fixed upon him, while the faces of some of the young ladies were blanched with terror. Evidently they were deeply moved. Even some of the young men shuddered, not so much because of the story that was told, as the strange power of the man that told it. As he saw these marks of interest, a smile crept over his face. He evidently felt that he was the strongest influence in the room—that all had to yield to him as their superior.
"I confess," he went on, "that my heart began to beat quickly at these words. Fancy, if you can, the scene. An Egyptian village, not far removed from some of the great temples of the dead past. Above our heads waved tall palm trees. Around was a strange land, and a wild, lawless people. The hour was midnight, and our business was with the dead.
"We had not waited above three minutes when I knew that the room was peopled—by whom I knew not, except that they came from that land from whose bourne, your greatest poet says, 'no traveller returns.' I looked at Abou. His face was as the face of the dead, except for his eyes. They burned like two coals of fire. He uttered some strange words, the meaning of which was unknown to me, and then I knew some mighty forces were being exerted in that old sheik's hut. My brain began to whirl, while a terrible power gripped me; but still I looked, and still I remembered.
"'Spirit of Ilfra,' said Abou, 'are you here?'
"No voice spoke that I could hear, and yet I realized that Abou had received his answer.
"'Enter thy body then, spirit of my daughter, and tell me, if thou darest, the secret I have desired so long.'
"I looked at the embalmed body. I saw the eyelids quiver, the mouth twitch, and then the body moved.
"'Speak to me, my daughter, and tell me all,' said Abou.
"I only heard one sound. My overtaxed nerves could bear no more; the living dead was too terrible for me, and I fell senseless to the ground.
"When I awoke to consciousness, I found only Abou and Helfa there. The body of Ilfra had been removed, where, I know not, for I never saw it again; but Helfa was like unto that which he had been before.
"'The secret is mine, son Herod,' said Abou, 'but it is not for you to learn yet. Be patient; when your spirit is prepared, the knowledge will come.'"
Voltaire stopped abruptly. One of the young ladies gave a slight scream, and then he apologized for having no more to tell.
"But has the knowledge come since?" asked a voice.
I did not know who spoke, but it sounded like Gertrude Forrest's voice. I turned towards her, and saw her looking admiringly at this man whom I could not help fearing.
His answer was a beaming smile and a few words, saying that knowledge should never be boasted of.
That moment my jealousy, which had been allayed, now surged furiously in me, and I determined that that very night I would match the strength of my mind with the strength of his.
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